Junction-box.



No. 833,296. PATENTED OCT. 16, 1906. W. F. BOSSERT. JUNCTION BOX.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 15. 1904.

all, IIIA'II'IIIIIIIIIII UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE- WILLIAM F. BOSSERT, or UTICA, NEW YO K, ASSIGNOR TO THE BOSSERT ELECTRIC CONSTRUCTION COMPANY, or UTIOA, NEW YORK, A coa- JUNCTION-BOX.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Oct. 16, 1906.

Applica ion fi September 15, 1904. Serial No. 224,500.

To all whom, it may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM F. BOSSERT, of Utica, in the county of Oneida and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Junction-Boxes, of which the following is a specification.

This invention has relation to junction or outlet boxes (so called) in which the Walls (either the bottom or the side walls or both) are provided with weakened portions, which may be removed therefrom by the aid of a hammer or other tool to permit an electric conductor to be carried into the interior of the box.

The object of the present invention is to provide a box having a weakened portion which is not entirely severed from the remainder of the walls, but which is only partially severed therefrom and connected thereto by an integral bridge, so that there will be no dan er of the weakened portion being accidentally removed or dropping out.

Referring to the accompanyin drawings, Figure 1 represents a punch an die which are illustrated as em loyed in partially punching upon the wall of an outlet-box a disk or weakened portion. Fig. 2 represents a section on the line 2 2 of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 represents a plan view of the bottom die. Fig. 4 represents an end View of the punch. Fig. 5 represents in perspective view a box in which some of the weakened portions are illustrated as having been removed, others being shown as remaining in place.

Referring to the drawings, the box is illustrated at a, and it has a bottom wall a and side walls a This box is formed from a piece of ductile sheet metal by means of dies such'as described in my copending application, Serial No. 224,499, filed September 15, 1904.

After the body of the box is suitably formed it is placed upon the die or anvil 6 of a power-punching machine having a punch 7. Where the weakened portions disks, blocks, or blanks, as the portions to be removed may be calledare round, the anvil or did 6 has a circular depression 8, as shown in Fig. 3, and the punch 7 has a cylindrical end, except that it is grooved or cut away, as at 9 9. It-will be understood, however, that these weakened portions may be of another shape, if desired, although I prefer, for obvious reasons, that they should be circular.

The recess 8 is less in depth than the thickness of the metal wall a or a so that when the punch 7 descends the disk, plug, or blank will be forced into the recess and will by pressure be expanded laterally, so that the severed portions thereof will be caused to firmly engage the surrounding wall of the partially-formed aperture an forced entirely through the said wall. The grooves 9 9 in the punch 7 prevent said punch from entirely severing the disk-blank, or weakened portion from the wall, but leave said blank connected to the wall by two integral connecting portions or connections, as shown in Figs. 2 and 5.

In Fig. 5 the width of the said connecting portions is somewhat exaggerated, as is the thickness of the metal; but it is for the purpose of illustrating in a general Way the appearance of the box with the partially-sev ered blank. By thus leaving the blanks connected to the wall of the box by an integral connection and by expanding the partially-severed blanks the wall of the box is not weakened to any material extent, although any one of the weakened portions may be removed by employing a hammer and striking them sharply so as to break the integral connections.

In Fig. 5 four of the weakened portions are illustrated as having been removed, while four others are shown as remaining in place.

When abox is to be employed in a wall,the conduit-entrances are determined and the proper weakened portions or blanks are detached by a suitable implement.

In addition to the advantages already pointed out a box constructed in accordance with this invention has other advantages which will be apparent to those skilled'in the art to which the invention relates. I may refer to the fact, however, that by forming the weakened portions as herein described the box is substantially or practically watertight, in spite of the fact that the metal is sheared enough to permit the removal of the blank.

Having thus explained the nature of the will not be invention and described a way of constructing and using the same, although without attempting toset forth all of the forms in which it may be made or all of the modes of its use, I declare that what I claim is 1. An outlet or junction box formed of metal and having one or more cut and partially-displaced blanks connected to the encirclin metal by an integral connection, each blank eing s read by pressure to engage its encircling Wal is.

2. An outlet or junction box formed of metal, and having in one of its walls, a par tially-formed aperture closed by a blank connected with the remainder of the wall by an uncut integral connection, said blank being pressure so as to firmly engage the wall of the partially-formed aperture, and one or more integral connections between said blank and 2 5 v the encircling portion of the wall.

In testimony whereof I have affixed my signature in presence of two witnesses.

WILLIAM F. BOSSERT. Witnesses:

FREDERICK T. FOXENBERGER, EUGENE 0. RYAN. 

